


Powder

by weishenbi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-09-25 04:13:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17114243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weishenbi/pseuds/weishenbi
Summary: Renjun doesn't trust Jaemin's apparent never-ending kindness, and he doesn't like how expensive his clothes and car look either. Donghyuck thinks he just doesn't like that Jeno flirts with Jaemin quite a lot.





	1. Pink

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like this first chapter! I intend each chapter to focus on one ship mainly, so first come Renjun and Jaemin and next will be Jeno and Jaemin. This isn't beta-ed and it's 4am so I'm sorry if there's any mistakes or my English is not so good. If you have any suggestions, critics or comments please let me know! <3

Na Jaemin was all smiles and neatly combed hair, polite greetings and expensive-looking clothing, sweet words for everyone and a fucking Cadillac he drove to college. Renjun didn’t trust him, for a number of reasons.

 

First, there was that aura of niceness and sweetness surrounding him, that unwavering kindness in his tone. No one could be _genuinely_ that nice all the time, but he certainly made it seem like it was heartfelt and truthful. Every time. Thus, given the premise that at least _some_ of those were definitely forced but didn’t quite seem so, Jaemin could not mean any of the kind comments he made, ever, for all they knew. It was suspicious.

Then, you had the obviously-super-rich-kid vibe he had going on. Renjun always hated the way rich people liked to make clear to everyone how much money they had, at every opportunity they’d get. Those expensive clothes were a bad enough sign, especially since they weren’t of Renjun’s liking at all. But that _car_. They were the same age, which meant he couldn’t have gotten his license that long ago. What kind of parents would give a new driver such an expensive car, it was only telling of how spoiled that brat was if he got handed anything he wanted without a care.

Donghyuck, used to (and tired of) his neverending rants about him, usually pointed out that he was just annoyed by the way he flirted with Jeno. Renjun was really offended each time, and proceeded to over-analyse any little suspicious thing he had done the past months that they’d witnessed. Of course he wasn’t wary of Jaemin just because Jeno seemed to enjoy his company an awful lot. That was ridiculous, and Donghyuck should know better. But he’d have to admit he might be a little harder on the boy because of that. After all, he didn’t want just anyone getting close to his half decade-long crush, not someone that could potentially hurt him at least.

 

So the confrontation was actually bound to happen sooner or later. Donghyuck, of all people, should have seen it coming.

 

Renjun, Jeno and Donghyuck had made plans for going to the movies that Saturday, but Jaemin and his friends were going skiing that weekend, one of them had fallen sick so they had a free spot in the car and the reservations, so he had offered Jeno to come with. Renjun and Donghyuck obviously told him rescheduling the movie plan was the fairest course of action, and were both happy that Jeno would have fun and probably make new friends. But something inside of Renjun was boiling, his anger towards the rich boy only increasing.

 

“He’s showing off. Oh, we were going to go to this very expensive skii resort, but now we have an empty space, so would you be the replacement? I swear, if he makes Jeno feel bad in _any_ way, I’ll end him.” He took the change the cashier had extended out to him, not noticing the small grimace of fear that was drawn over her face.

“I don’t doubt you will”, Donghyuck managed to say while slurping on his bobba tea. “But let’s wait to see how things go, and judge later, maybe?”

“That’s weak. You have to be one step ahead of your adversary at all times, Hyuckie, we can’t just sit here and let things happen to us without having a plan to deal with them.” His own tea was ready, so he took it with a thanks and gestured to the door. “Outside?”

“Yeah, let’s walk for a bit. My ass and legs are sore from that three hour conference, oh my God, I thought it would never end.”

“Come on, it couldn’t possibly be that bad. What was the topic about, again? Some business stuff?” His best friend nodded, visibly more focused on his drink that on the subject of that compulsory lecture. “Why did you attend that anyway, what does a performing arts student need from a business talk?”

“Something about enterpreneurship and, I don’t know, I didn’t even pay attention after the third graphic.” They walked in comfortable silence for a while, instinctively directing their steps back towards the campus. When they approached their usual sitting spot, on the grass near the pond under the big tree, they noticed a baby pink spot on top of one of the exposed roots. Curious, Renjun went over to the _thing_ , that turned out to be a really nice sweater, forgotten and alone. Poor sweater, he thought while picking it up and walking back towards Hyuck. It seemed high-quality, deserving of something better than being thrown around and forgotten under a tree. It was a bit familiar, too, he thought when his friend took it by the shoulders and examined it. Did it belong to someone he knew?

“Look at the tag, this thing is expensive” Donghyuck showed it to him, also deep in analysis. “Oh, and look! There are initials sewed here… NJM. Do we know any NJM who wears baby pink? Or should we take this to the lost and f-”

“Shit. Hyuckie, drop that, it might be _toxic_ or something.” The other boy’s face was the enciclopaedia description of confusion. “It’s from the _devil_!!” Still no signs of understanding. God, he would have to pronounce his name. “Na Jaemin!!!” It was fine, it didn’t burn his tongue like he had thought it would. Donghyuck finally opened his eyes almost comically and nodded in understanding.

“Oh, that’s nice! We can give it to him on Monday. They were going to be back on Monday, right?” Renjun couldn’t believe his ears.

“We can’t give him this back! He left this precious and expensive piece of clothing alone, abandoned, orphaned!! He doesn’t deserve it back. He should learn about the consequences of his actions!” He was met with a rolling of Hyuck’s eyes.

“So what do you suggest we do, Injun? Keep it? It’s not like we can wear this and expect him not to recognize it, what with his initials over here and all.” He raised an eyebrow and looked at him to ask, in a slightly less mocking tone, “maybe sell it?”

“I’m thinking we could... give it away? It seems really warm, I’m sure someone will need it more than Cadillac boy. If he even does notice it going missing!” He knew, he could sense how he was starting to convince his best friend.

 

It didn’t take long after that. They agreed on keeping it until Monday and then, if Jaemin didn’t show any sign of missing his sweater, giving it away; but returning it to him if he did. Hyuck could trust Renjun not to burn it down or something only for the promise of giving it to someone who might need it, so he let him carry it into his backpack and keep it in his room.

 

What Donghyuck hadn’t anticipated was that, on Monday, when they greeted Jeno and Jaemin and stayed with them for luch so they could hear how the weekend went, and Jaemin mentioned having lost one of his sweaters somewhere, Renjun would actually tell him that they had found it on Saturday and gave it away to a charity since they didn’t know who it belonged to, without giving him any chance to speak first or at all.

And what Renjun didn’t expect was Jaemin smiling wide and congratulating him for such a good idea, stating that he was happy it wasn’t in the trash but actually serving a purpose for someone who needed it. He also didn’t expect at all how the next words to come out of his mouth were “I should buy myself two or three more anyway, do you maybe want to come with me, Jeno?” and Jeno indeed agreeing to go.

 

“I’m going to fucking destroy his car or something” he told Donghyuck as soon as they were alone again.

“No you’re not, that’s just jealousy talking and it’s ridiculous.” Renjun was about to protest but Donghyuck spoke again, “the kid’s a good guy, I can understand why Jeno likes him. You could stop with this ‘he has a hidden agenda’ bullshit and befriend him too. At least that’s what I’m going to do.”

 

Traitor. Weak. Huang Renjun didn’t fall for his charade, even if everyone else did.


	2. White

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! First of all, I am SO sorry I took so long to update. Life got in the way, with college and personal issues and whatnot, and the part that should have taken me about a week to finish actually meant I spent months without being able to write anything. Again, I’m sorry, I hope you enjoy this and it’s worth the wait even a little bit!!

Mark, Yukhei and Chenle seemed like good people, Jeno thought after Friday class, in front of Jaemin’s car, when the pertinent introductions were made. They apparently talked quite a lot, so he was glad he’d get to spend a couple of days in their company instead of just an afternoon, so his initial shyness would wear off and he wouldn’t come off as boring or not interested in being their friend.

Not that he would have to worry about them being the kind of people to think that, he decided half an hour later, while he tried to hold back the laughter in the middle of a very heated debate on whether or not it was correct to call the Grinch a furry. Chenle, on his left, was searching for something in his phone while shaking his head to what Yukhei was saying, completely turned around from his front seat, energically shaking his hands to support his point. Jaemin, hands on the wheel, was mainly focused on the road but Jeno could tell from where he was sitting that he was also biting back a smile.

“Lucas, could you _please_ focus on the road, you called shotgun to help Nana find the way” said Mark, his head going to rest on the back of the driver’s seat with a soft groan.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, he knows it’s all a straight line from here for the next like 40 minutes!!” Yukhei waved it off and poked Chenle’s forehead, “And this is more important anyway.”

“I’m going to call Jisung so you won’t keep on saying dumb stuff”, the youngest snapped, but Mark shoved him lightly to the side, resulting on Chenle dramatically falling to his right and mashing Jeno against the door. “Ouch! What was that for? Look what you’ve done to poor Jeno!!” That was it, he couldn’t help but laugh at that. Renjun would definitely like this kid.

“Jisung is sick, he might be sleeping! Don’t disturb him to talk about the Grinch, for God’s sake.”

“Then I’ll send him a voice message!! Wait...okay. Jiji, we have a _very_ important matter on our hands. Ge says we can’t call the Grinch a furry because he’s not any animal, but fictional animals count too, right? Or would you say Chewbacca isn’t a furry either?”

Yukhei tried to gasp in indignation at that, but he did it so loudly that it came off as more of a scream and it scared Jaemin, who yelled, causing Chenle to scream too. Jeno blinked.

“Should I scream too…?”

“Oh my God he’s funny!!” Yukhei beamed before _finally_ sitting properly and allowing Mark to breathe again.

 

An hour later, when they were entering the ski complex, Jaemin turned to look at Jeno for a second, “So have you all decided how we’re sharing the rooms?”

“Well, it’s either me, Mark and Chenle in the big one or you, Jeno and Mark… no, no, don’t park over here, let’s get closer first” Yukhei answered, turning around to pat Mark on the knee. “Where do you want to sleep?”

“I’d really like to spend one night away from your snores, Cas, but either way is okay.”

“Hey, _you_ were the one to suggest we should be roommates last year!” He turned to Jeno then, “and if he didn’t like rooming with me he shouldn’t have asked me to be together this year too, don’t listen to him!” Chenle muttered a soft _oh I hope Jisung doesn’t snore_ that gained a soft _hah_ from Jaemin.

“How long have you been friends for? Like, all of you. Jaemin told me he’s known you guys since high school?”

“Yeah, these old men met there and adopted me and Jisung. I barely see them now that they’re in uni, but they get to see each other more so they don’t boss us around as much” Yukhei turned around again and shot Chenle a look of complaint. Jaemin was too busy parking to whine, but he was pursing his lips in a thin line. “Oh, come on. You know we miss you.”

“If you miss him so much why don’t you share a room this weekend?” suggested Mark, leaning forward to look at Jeno. “Are you okay with rooming with Jaemin and me?”

“Yeah, it’s fine! I don’t really mind, don’t worry about it.”

 

It was too dark to ski when they got to their two-bedroom bungalow, and they were too tired from the classes and the trip to really do anything. So they all gathered in the smaller room to devour the snacks that were left from the trip and decided to call it a day. Jaemin was resting his head on Jeno’s lap and his legs on Mark’s, all of them up on Chenle’s bed while the two chinese boys shared Yukhei’s bed, playing some Mario game (Jeno was too sleepy to try to remember or deduce which one) on their consoles. They were sharing the reasons why they chose their respective degrees and talking about their future plans, and it was now Jaemin’s turn.

“Well, I don’t think it would come as a surprise to anyone that my family owns a very successful company in the fashion industry. My parents want me and my siblings to help run it, and I’ve always been interested in fashion design but I thought… maybe I’d do better in management than on a creative branch, you know?” Mark patted his knees and buffed

“You said something along the lines of ‘I don’t like having to think that much’ when you were considering a career choice, Nana.”

“Hey, that’s not fair! I didn’t really mean it that way” Jaemin complained, sitting up to softly smack Mark on the neck and returning to his position. Mark just got the younger’s legs off him, making him fall on his ass on the ground. “Auch.”

“You asked for it.”

Jeno wasn’t hiding his chuckles as well as he thought he was, and that earned him a very marked pout from Jaemin. He got down and sat on the floor next to him in simpathy, hoping that’d be enough of an apology, and giving Mark enough place to lay down on the whole bed, content with the outcome.

“So you believe you won’t have to think in a business management degree?”

“That’s not it… I actually put effort in what I study, you know. You’ve seen me in class!” Jeno nodded, he had. Jaemin seemed to take his studies seriously, even if he acted carefree most of the time. “I figured I’d be more useful to the company in a management position, and I want to be a fair boss to our employees, so for that I have to learn everything about business and economy and salaries and whatnot. _Why_ are you chuckling again?”

“It’s just, I remembered how Injun always says there’s no such thing as a fair employer so…” he was slightly shaking, triyng to hold laughter in, “maybe don’t tell him that?”

“Well I don’t know who that Injun is but he can swallow his words when I become the head of the company and make it a successful brand as well as a nice and fair workplace!” he was using that child-like tone he resorted to when he was upset, and Jeno found it adorable. As oppossed to Mark, who was rolling his eyes while scrolling on his phone.

“Sorry, Injun is Renjun’s Korean name, it slipped.” The frown on the redhead’s face faded in a second. “I’m sure you will achieve that if you put your mind into it, Jaemin.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Mr. Economist, thank you!” he hugged him and rested his head on his shoulder for just a bit more of what he’d expected, and Jeno almost held him back when the other pulled off.

They were engulfed by what seemed like ten minutes of awkward silence to Jeno, but were actually ten seconds of quiet that came to an end with a yawn from Mark. Jeno tried to keep the conversation going; “I’m not sure of what I want to do after graduation, or what I want to work in, I just…”

“You just liked Economy and wanted to take it. Yeah, I get it, I think that’s sweet. Not everyone has to have their future plans all mapped out when they start college, Yukhei himself started in Social Work on a similar note as you, too! And now he and Mark here-” Jaemin pointed at the boy with his hand, making them both realise he had already fallen asleep. “...they are now super excited about their class projects and have a lot of ideas for their careers post-grad” Jaemin finished in a lower voice and with a warm smile.

He then stood up and went over to where the two Chinese boys were, showing them Mark’s state. Yukhei whispered -the noisiest whisper Jeno had ever heard, but not exactly _loud_ , somehow- that it was fine and he didn’t mind sharing his bed for the night, so there was no need to worry.

“Let’s go to our room, then, and continue the conversation there?” Jeno nodded, but when they were on their own room and he could let himself fall on his bed, his body and mind both suddenly decided it was time to sleep, right that moment, and he had trouble keeping his eyes open and listening to what his friend was saying.

“If you’d rather go to sleep, Jeno, I wouldn’t mind at all, you know?” Jaemin was gently poking his shoulder for the third time to get his attention. “Just tell me so I don’t end up talking alone.”

“Hm”, Jeno covered his eyes with his arm and curled up a bit  -how cute. “I think so, yeah, sorry. Let’s keep talking tomorrow… with the others, too.”

“I’m so glad you seem to get along so well with them! I was really looking forward to you guys meeting”, the other said while turning the lights off, walking back to get into bed. Jeno replied with an unintelligible mix of a _hm_ and _sweet dreams_ before he totally fell asleep.

 

The alarm on both phones had inevitably rung the next morning, and sleep lingered on them and bravely fought its battle for dominance over their bodies while they got out of bed and gathered their things for the day. Jaemin had risen victor after using a shower as his ultimate weapon. Jeno, on the other hand, was waiting for his turn sitting on Mark’s bed, scrolling through his phone but not actually paying any attention to anything that weren’t cat videos on his timeline.

“I take it you had a nice rest tonight?” Jaemin teased, retrieving his own phone. “I did too, but I kind of missed my plushies. Should have brought at least one.”

“That’s adorable. I also like plushies, but don’t sleep with them, they’re mostly stacked up around my room.” He stood up and fixed the creases he had created on the bed’s cover, “I bet Mark slept like a baby.. Yukhei looks like the biggest plushie puppy ever.” Was he doing it on purpose, or was the kid just a perfect constant objective for Jaemin’s teasing? Either way, he wouldn’t let golden opportunities pass just like that.

“Jen, if you wanted to sleep together you should have just asked, you know…” the boy almost dropped his toothbrush to the floor. Well, he actually _did_ drop it, but he also caught it on time, so the catastrophe was avoided. Fortunately, the whole ruse also saved him the trouble to answer.

 

The day went by as nicely as it can go when you have never skied in your life and you go on a ski trip. The fact that Jaemin and Chenle were really skilled, Mark could barely manage not tripping and Yukhei had not come close to a mountain since he was five resulted in a great contrast and a lot of bonding over the championship for the Frozen Throne. Which consisted of counting how many times each of them fell on their butt, becoming Frozen Butt Prince and thus a candidate to the throne. You’d think this honor awaited only the least experienced ones, but you’d be wrong: Jaemin and Chenle alternated between teaching the others the basics and doing weird tricks they had never done before merely to show off, most of which ended in them slipping, tripping or losing balance.

Everyone was loving Jeno, and Jeno was loving everyone. They were all sad he didn’t get to meet Jisung too, and he couldn’t wait to introduce them to Renjun and Donghyuck. Sure, Junnie seemed to disapprove of Jaemin’s wealth, but he was sure he’d come around sooner than later when the two of them could talk a bit more.

They decided to keep score until Sunday morning and declare the Frozen Butt King before they left the ski complex. The final result was a shared crown between Chenle and Yukhei, Jaemin having tried to keep it easy that morning since he had to drive them all back to town. Mark didn’t sleep in his room that night either, since Yukhei apparently had proven to be, in fact, a very comfortable plushie. That earned the two a few mocking comments on the ride back, especially impressions of Mark’s former usual complaints about sharing a room together. Jeno dared to join in with a couple of puns, not wanting to cross any line with their still new group of friends, but it came out organically and it was accepted as such. So much so, that Jaemin took that chance to pick on him a bit about _Injun_ too.

“It’s not like that!! Also, seriously, don’t call him that, he’ll get mad at me for telling you. He only lets close friends call him that…”

“Who are we talking about?” asked Chenle, not really interested in the whole nickname drama.

“My best friend! Renjun! He’s just my friend, haha, don’t get the wrong idea, Jaemin. We’ve been best friends for ages!” if any of them noticed how he was rambling -and they all probably did-, no one commented on it. Chenle did mention that he knew a Renjun, but it was lost in the new conversation that arose between Mark and Yukhei, about how they liked more how some names translated from Cantonese and Mandarin to Korean and vice versa than how others did, and about names and nicknames in general, resulting in everyone engaging on that topic.

 

It was getting dark outside when they arrived in the city so Jaemin dropped everyone off at their own doors, saving Jeno for last. He thanked him again for the invitation and for such a great time, to which Jaemin responded thanking him for coming along and making good memories with everyone. When Jeno was already outside of the car he took the moment of boldness that came over him and told the other boy that he could come by anytime he wanted to, because even if his dorm didn’t have a ski court his room was very nice, _and you could meet my plushies_ , to which Jaemin said that sure, although he thought he already knew which one he’d like to hug to sleep. Half enjoying the flirting, half scared of not reading the situation correctly, Jeno said goodbye and ran to the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I just write a whole chapter about a skiing trip and only talk about the actual sport in two paragraphs? It seems like I did. I’m sorry.
> 
> Anyhow!! This chapter revolved around nomin, and the next one revolves about noren. Expect the rest of NCT’s baby line to make an appearance soon too, hehe.


End file.
